Ruling set for false declaration

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
The Waigani District Court will deliver a verdict on the allegations of a false declaration of Nick Kuman as the MP-elect for Gumine Open in the 2017 national election .
Last week the Court adjourned the case to next month (July) for a ruling after Police prosecutors Sandra Holland presented police information before magistrate Peter Balos against Freddy Yaun for declaring Kuman as Gumine MP in the 2017 national election in Port Moresby .
According to police the accused was not the gazette Returning Officer for Gumine Open , when he presented the Return of Writs to the then Deputy Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai at the PNG Electoral Commissions Head Quarters at Hohola on the 29th July 2017.
Yaun was accused of misleading then Deputy Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai (now Electoral Commissioner) to accept the return of writs of the Gumine open seat at the Electoral Commission Headquarters in Port Moresby and declare Nick Kuman as the MP on the 29th July 2017. While another candidate Lucas Dawa Dekena was declared by the Gazette Returning officer Max Yomba at Kundiawa counting center in Chimbu province on 28th July 2017. However the Electoral Commission recognized Kuman as the duly elected Gumine MP and not Dekena. Kuman then served as the MP till he lost the seat to Dekena in the 2022 national election.
Freddie Yaun, 47, from Kama village, Karamui- Salt –Nomane electorate in Chimbu Province is before the court on charges of conspiracy, forgery and false declaration.
Magistrate Balos will make a ruling on Yaun next Month.
Meanwhile the current Gumine MP Dawa Lucas Dekena said that he has submit this complaint to the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate (NFACD) to correct the electoral process that allegedly cheated his win in the 2017 National Election and his removal from the 10th National Parliament swearing ceremony.
And his win in the 2022 National election is a sweet revenge for him for been allegedly cheated from his 2017 National Election wins. “Basically I don’t feel been new in the 11th Parliament as I’m the rightful MP. Because in the last Parliament, there was a mix up when I won and was not allowed to take part in the voting of the then Prime Minister and the then Speaker on the August 02nd 2017. That mix up can be called election fraud. And I’m still pursing that with the NFACD. Any election petition case is a criminal case. I did filed the case at the Court of Disputed Returns and it got thrown out on February 12 2018. The Courts said that my submission was incompetents and they threw it out before my case went to trial. So will pursue that case again at the national court”.
Mr Dekena said that “yes I did win the 2022 national elections and I’m supposed to forget what had happened in the 2017 national election. But I have to dig up my case again to correct the electoral process. Because if I don’t correct it, some winning MP in the future will be cheated off his win in that same controversial process that I was cheated”.